Scapp:
"A champion, a true champion is to take on all capable challengers. A true champion defends his title, and looks for matches that pose a threat in order to prove to the world he deserves to be called the best of the best."

"Man, it really felt good to be home and some of my family and grandkids were here so we had a very pleasant evening. Again, thanks for all of the encouragement and kind words. You are truly a great bunch of friends."

It was the 6th time the two future Hall of Famers fought and the 5th time Robinson won. "The Raging Bull" had won their second bout in 1943, inflicting the first loss Robinson suffered. Robinson had won his first 40 fights and, after the loss to LaMotta, would go unbeaten in his next 91 bouts (88-0-2-1 NC) before suffering his second defeat.

It was the 6th time the two future Hall of Famers fought and the 5th time Robinson won. "The Raging Bull" had won their second bout in 1943, inflicting the first loss Robinson suffered. Robinson had won his first 40 fights and, after the loss to LaMotta, would go unbeaten in his next 91 bouts (88-0-2-1 NC) before suffering his second defeat.

Here is a little more on the subject from thesweetscience.com:

On this day in Chicago in 1929, seven members of George “Bugs” Moran’s gang were lined up against a garage wall on the North Side and gunned down by members of Al Capone’s crew. The event became known as the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”

And on this day in 1951, boxing had its own St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, as Sugar Ray Robinson won the world middleweight title with a 13th-round stoppage of Jake LaMotta at Chicago Stadium. While no one died, LaMotta received one of the most brutal beatings in boxing history.

The two fighters had met five times before, with Robinson winning four close and competitive decisions. Their last meeting was in 1945. A year later, Robinson won the world welterweight title with a decision over Tommy Bell and LaMotta won the world middleweight title in 1949 with TKO of Marcel Cerdan. Late in 1950, Robinson decided to move up in weight and challenge for LaMotta’s middleweight title, setting the stage for a sixth bout.

By this point, LaMotta was having serious problems making the 160-pound middleweight limit. In losing a large amount of weight very fast, he zapped himself of strength and energy. For his previous defense, LaMotta was forced to allow Laurent Dauthuille to hit him for 14 rounds until he tired, allowing LaMotta to knock him out in the 15th round.

With Robinson, LaMotta took the fight to Robinson and the first 10 rounds were competitive. However, from then on, Robinson began to hit his opponent at will. The bout earned its nickname in the 13th round, when Robinson put LaMotta against the ropes and hit with a seemingly never-ending barrage of punches. But LaMotta would not go down. Finally, referee Frank Sikora stopped the bout at 2:04 in the 13th. LaMotta has always insisted that Robinson would have collapsed from exhaustion had Sikora allowed the fight to continue.

It was the final meeting for the two all-time greats. LaMotta went 5-4-1 following the loss and retired in 1954. Robinson went on to win the middleweight title four more times.

1956- Howard Davis, is a retired world class American amateur and professional boxer. Growing up on Long Island as the eldest of 10 children, Davis first learned boxing from his father but embarked on his amateur career at age 15 after being inspired by a movie about Muhammad Ali. Following his successful amateur career, he went on to win the 1976 Olympic gold medal one week after his mother died. He was also awarded the "Val Barker Trophy during the Olympics that included Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks."[1] After the Olympics he turned pro going on to a record of 36-6-1 with 14 knock outs before officially retiring in 1996.[1] As of 2009, he works as boxing director at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL where he trains both amateur and professional boxers and MMA fighters. He is also a motivational speaker and a musician.

2009- In a battle for the interim WBC light middleweight title Kermit Cintron and Sergio Martinez ended in a controversial majority draw. The opening rounds held no meaningful action, with Cintron holding an early edge due to his aggression and cleaner punching. By the fourth round, Martinez started moving around with his hands down in an effort to draw Cintron into a mistake, but to no avail, as there continued to be more clinching than punching. Martinez opened a cut over Cintron’s left eye early in the fifth round. Late in the seventh round, a left hand to the head hurt Cintron, and after backing into the ropes, he went down to his knees before Martinez could attack. Cintron claimed he was headbutted while the referee Frank Santore continued the count. After Cintron's protests and a lot of confusion in the ring, Santore allowed the bout to continue, saying Cintron was up at nine and that he never stopped the fight. Martinez went after Cintron once the eighth round commenced and taunted him after landing punches to the head. Cintron responded with sustained action of his own, but it was Martinez ending the round with another left hand to the head. The ninth round was favorable for Martinez, but Cintron rebounded in the tenth round. Martinez lost a point for a punch to the back of the head in the final round. Scores Judges cards where Tom Kaczmarek 116-110, judge: Ged O'Connor 113-113, judge: Peter Trematerra 113-113.

Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!

ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote:
Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.

2009- Nate Campbell W 12 Ali Funeka, Sunrise, FL. Campbell had lost IBF and WBO World Lightweight Titles and WBA World Lightweight Super Championship on the scale. Titles were available to Funeka only. With Campbell winning, the titles remained vacant.

1965- Frankie Liles (born in Syracuse, New York)
American boxer (189 cm height) at super middleweight. He is considered a World boxing champion.
Liles won a bronze medal at the 1987 Pan American Games. Liles had a stellar amateur career, compiling an Amateur Record of 285-14.
Amateur Highlights
* 1985 3rd place National Golden Gloves as a Welterweight
* 1986 National Golden Gloves Champion as a Welterweight
* 1987 Runner-up United States Amateur Championships as a Welterweight
* 1987 3rd place at Pan-American Games as a Light Middleweight
* 1987 United States Amateur Champion at Light Middleweight
* 1988 Runner-up for Olympic team berth at Light Middleweight, was decisioned twice by Roy Jones, Jr. after defeating Jones twice in 1987 including a 3-0 decison in which Jones received 2 standing eight counts.
Pro career
Known as "Fabulous", Liles had a very successful pro career that began in 1988. Liles lost his first fight in 1992, to Tim Littles. In 1994 he beat Steve Little to capture the WBA Super Middleweight Title. He successfully defended the title seven times over a five year span, including wins over Michael Nunn, Segundo Mercado, and a rematch win over Tim Littles. He lost his title to Byron Mitchell in 1999 and retired in 2002.

1965- Nana Konadu (born Nana Yaw Konadu Yeboah in Sunyani, Ghana)
Retired boxer who won World titles in two different weight divisions.
Konadu turned pro in 1985 and in 1989 won the WBC Super Flyweight Title by winning a decision over Gilberto Roman. He lost the belt in his first defense to Sung Kil Moon in 1990 and lost a rematch to Moon in 1991. He later moved up to Bantamweight and captured the WBA Bantamweight Title by TKO'ing Veeraphol Sahaprom in 1996. He again lost the belt in his first defense to Daorung Chuvatana later that year, but recaptured the belt the following year in a rematch. He defended the belt once before losing it to Johnny Tapia in 1998. He retired in 2001 after being TKO'd by Daniel Seda.

1970- Freddie Norwood (born in St. Louis, Missouri)
Retired boxer in the lightweight division. Known as "Lil Hagler", Norwood defeated Antonio Cermeño to win the WBA Featherweight Title title in 1998. He successfully defended his title eight times before losing his title by a controversial 11th round TKO to Smoke Gainer. Among his notable defenses were a 9th round KO over former WBC Featherweight Title holder Takashi Koshimoto, a unanimous decision victory over former WBO Featherweight Title holder Julio Pablo Chacón and former IBF and WBA Featherweight title holder Juan Manuel Márquez. After losing his title to Gainer, Norwood retired from boxing.

Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!

ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote:
Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.

Two years ago today -- July 14, 2007 -- I was ringside at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., for what was always the thrill of covering an Arturo Gatti fight.

Today, I am mourning the death of my favorite fighter.

He died Saturday at age 37 -- far too young to leave us -- in a rented condo while on vacation in Brazil, allegedly at the hands of his wife. I hadn't been able to bring myself to write this until now because Gatti meant a lot to me, personally and professionally.

Although Gatti didn't win that last fight -- he was stopped by Alfonso Gomez in the seventh round and immediately announced his retirement -- he did what he always did: Gatti went down swinging. The one-sided fight finally ended in a Gomez victory only when then-New Jersey boxing commissioner Larry Hazzard overruled referee Randy Neumann and climbed into the ring to stop the fight.

There would be no dramatic rally for the fearless Gatti on that night, although it should be noted that even as the fight was being stopped, "Thunder" was trying to climb off the canvas.

No fighter I have ever seen had more heart than Gatti. No fighter I have ever seen was in more absolutely sensational, over-the-top, all-action brawls than Gatti, whose two world titles at junior lightweight and junior welterweight are often overshadowed by his résumé of unforgettable battles.

There were two ridiculous slugfests with Ivan Robinson. Incredible, one-punch comeback knockouts against Wilson Rodriguez and Gabriel Ruelas. Two underrated fights with Tracy Harris Patterson, as well as barn burners with Calvin Grove and Angel Manfredy, and a brave and exciting effort against Oscar De La Hoya. And those all came before he waged one of boxing's all-time great trilogies with Micky Ward.

Although Gatti (40-9, 31 KOs) -- born in Italy, raised in Canada and adopted by New Jersey -- refined his style a bit near the end of his career by employing more boxing under trainer Buddy McGirt (who helped rejuvenate his career after the loss to De La Hoya), brawling came naturally. Watching him fight that way was what so many of his passionate fans lived for. Was there anything better than the Jersey shore on the weekend of a Gatti fight? Could anything beat the booming of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" reverberating off the walls of Boardwalk Hall as Gatti made his entrance?

"People pay to come and see you fight, and a lot of guys don't do what they are supposed to do," Gatti told me in an interview for a 2002 feature I wrote for USA Today. "But that's who I am. I'm a fighter. I'm a gladiator. I was definitely born for this."

"There was no fighter -- and I'm talking none -- that was more universally respected by other fighters than Arturo Gatti.
”
promoter Lou DiBella

There is no doubt about it. His older brother, Joe Gatti, was a middleweight contender in the 1990s. Arturo Gatti was the ultimate blood-and-guts warrior, with a loyal cult following of fans who loved him, win or lose. He was a regular guy who happened to be able to take and dish out punishment in shockingly massive doses. He was the "Human Highlight Film," as many called him.

"There was no fighter -- and I'm talking none -- that was more universally respected by other fighters than Arturo Gatti," said promoter Lou DiBella, who as the longtime chief boxing programmer at HBO first put Gatti on the network for which he made 21 appearances. DiBella later developed a friendship with Gatti and co-promoted all three Ward fights.

When any Gatti fight was over and he had taken his inevitable trip to the hospital to get stitched up or have his hand X-rayed, he loved to have a good time -- albeit sometimes a bit too much of a good time. He had his demons, to be sure. He drank too much sometimes. He had his share of bar fights. He drove fast. He chased women.

"He lived hard and he had a passion for living," DiBella said. "It was a little self-destructive, sort of like how he fought. He was like a comet. He sort of whipped through life. I didn't necessarily think Arturo would grow to be an old man, but he left us much too soon."

Ask anyone who knew him and they'll tell you that deep down Gatti was a good guy and a regular Joe. In a sport in which loyalty often is a joke, Gatti was the exception. He stayed with promoter Kathy Duva's Main Events for his entire career. He was with manager Pat Lynch, who became like a brother to Gatti, for his entire career.

"If you were his friend, you were his friend, period," DiBella said. "He had his guys and they were always his guys. If you had something to do with Arturo's life, you knew you were appreciated. He hugged a lot of people and was expressive of his affection. He did everything in his life with passion. That's how he fought."

Even Ward, whom Gatti battled for 30 savage rounds, became a close friend in the midst of the rivalry. By the time the trilogy was over, they had become like brothers. Ward was there to walk him into the ring for his next fight. For that final fight with Gomez, Ward served as Gatti's trainer.

"We know each other like no one else does because of our fights," Ward told me in 2004. "It's a bond you don't understand until you go through it. After fights like ours, you can become enemies or become really close. We became really close."

Gatti also had a great sense of humor to go with his ability to take inordinate amounts of pain.

Eric Gelfand, who used to handle public relations at Madison Square Garden, saw the funny side of Gatti right after the incredible rally against Rodriguez.

"I have some great memories of him from his Garden fights, one in particular that I keep thinking of," Gelfand told me Saturday after he had learned of Gatti's death. "After the Rodriguez fight, I was walking him to the postfight presser. Pat Lynch and Carl Moretti [who used to work for Main Events] were behind us. His right eye was shut. We were just about to leave the Theater. He turns to me and says, 'Watch this,' and proceeds to walk into the only closed door. Pat and Carl leap towards him thinking he's hurt. Arturo turns towards them and just laughs."

nGatti didn't win 'em all, and he spent a fair amount of time on the canvas, but he never failed to thrill.

Gatti could always laugh his way through the blood and pain, which never really seemed to bother him.

"He got off on how crowd-pleasing he was," DiBella said. "He had balls the size of basketballs. It was inhuman. He had more guts than anyone I ever saw. He was a walking 'Rocky' movie. When he would taste his own blood, he would smile."

Golden Boy Promotions' David Itskowitch, who first met Gatti in the mid-1990s while working at HBO, once told me the story of their first meeting at a postfight party in Atlantic City. When Itskowitch was introduced, Gatti was holding a towel over his cut eye and still bleeding as they shook hands. But he was dressed up and ready to party, blood be damned.

"I was like, 'Wow, this guy is not human,'" Itskowitch said.

Then there was the time the much bigger and more powerful De La Hoya stopped Gatti in the fifth round at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2001. Gatti was more concerned about whether the MGM would allow him to use a limo that would take him to the hospital for the rest of the night than he was about having to go to the hospital in the first place.

Gatti was one of a kind.

The night he rallied from seemingly certain defeat to knock out Rodriguez in the sixth round of a glorious fight -- and preserve his junior lightweight title, in March 1996 -- made Gatti a star. It was also significant in shaping me as a fight fan and, in many ways, my life. I had always been a boxing fan, but my love for it had waned until I watched Marco Antonio Barrera stop Kennedy McKinney in the 12th round of a fabulous fight that served as the main event on the first installment of HBO's "Boxing After Dark."

Six weeks later, the fire was fully rekindled as I watched Gatti's dramatic comeback against Rodriguez on the second episode of BAD.

Five months later, I covered my first professional fight -- a McGirt fight, coincidentally -- for the small newspaper I had been working for in upstate New York. Less than four years later, I was the boxing writer at USA Today, which led me to ESPN. In many ways, I owe my career to Gatti because of the passion for boxing he helped stir inside me.

One of the great joys of my career was the opportunity to get to know Gatti and cover the final 14 fights of his career, 12 of them from ringside. He was always a great guy to be around. I liked him a lot. I respected him immensely.

I named one of my cats Thunder after him, which he got a kick out of. The only boxing item I have hanging on a wall in my house is a large charcoal portrait of Gatti in my office. I can see it as I type this.

There are a lot of people hurting today over Gatti's untimely death.

"I feel like this one is a death in the family," DiBella said.

Jolene Mizzone of Main Events also feels like she lost a member of the family.

"Everyone knew Arturo as a superstar boxer," she said. "To me, he was like family. I knew Arturo the person, the man who would give me the shirt off his back. Arturo would do anything for the ones he loved. He was like a brother to me. I will miss him."

So will we all.

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!

ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote:
Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.